Okay. In all seriousness, I almost died.
Around the end of August, my Mom made several mistakes. My Grandma had just passed, and she needed to take care of a few things at her house. Unfortunately, the idiots in the rest of my family threw a heavily unsafe party concerning the pandemic/virus. Everyone close together, no distancing, no masks, nothing. After they'd just flown in from other parts of the country. --They ALL got infected. I told my Mom to not go to my Grandma's house for a while to let that mess settle, she was stubborn and didn't listen to me. She got herself infected, then refused to listen to me about keeping her distance from me and got me infected. I spent from around August 24th - September 9th in the hospital in quarantined critical care. I am not exaggerating saying, I almost died. I first went to my go-to hospital that I usually go to for care, but they were horrifically negligent with me. They gave me a basic IV and literally left me out in the cold for 2 hours, in a wheelchair with a blanket. This resulted in my getting pneumonia on top of being infected with covid-19. --Thankfully when my Mom finally called an ambulance when things were going dark on me, I was taken to a competent hospital. I was out of consciousness for a week, but they saved my life. My Mom also stopped being in stubborn old woman mode, and went there for care as well, and is doing well. I was discharged to come home on the 9th, and I'm recovering, though I've had to bust my ass despite being in recovery to make the house livable, my Mom left it in poor condition before she finally went to get care. I'm safe, alive, and recovering at home.
It's been a while.
It's been a while, True Believers. I'm going to get right into it. I've been struggling hard with my mental and physical health all this time. That's why I rarely post any new art or writings, and it's difficult to get into the depth of HOW much I'm struggling. I suffer from chronic depression, crippling anxiety, and psychosomatic disorder which turns all my mental pain into physical pain, in a never-ending loop. I've wanted to continue alot of different things. And at some point I will, when I have the strength to. --That's not to say I haven't stopped practicing, I just don't feel like any of it is post-worthy yet. And on another note, it's been immensely difficult for me to create while weighed down by my mental and physical problems. I get discouraged because of the negative environment I'm stuck in. My family mistreats me quite a bit despite what I have to deal with every day. So I have to take things one day at a time currently. That, and.... For the fans of it, there's my Impossible Spider-Woman series. I've wanted to get back into that. Doing it is alot of fun for me. But.... I've tried to get back into it in recent years, an upsetting and disturbing pattern has emerged. When I've tried, someone I considered a friend has mistreated me and/or abused me mentally. One stabbed me in the back and twisted the knife. They mocked me for my support and kindness toward them. One quite literally said they were trying to give me a mental breakdown. And the last has flat out said they don't believe me about the negative home situation I'm in, despite how long we've been friends and my never giving them a reason to not trust me. And each and every one of these people knew what my mental illness situation has been and what a struggle it was for me already without them adding onto it. And they all added to my mental struggle big time. I'll say this flat out: I DO NOT DO WELL WITH THE 'TOUGH LOVE' CRAP. You will not get anywhere with me doing that. I do not function like everyone else. I do not get over people doing this sort of thing to me. I never truly do, what I suffer from does not let it go. And I cannot consciously force it to let go. With my mental state the way it is, I can't handle stress and conflict. All of the above has severely discouraged me from wanting to try doing more with not only The Impossible Spider-Woman, but other projects of mine. And it's been weighing on me hard, considering ISW. So, officially, despite the time that's passed, my Impossible Spider-Woman work is on indefinite hiatus until I say otherwise/until I feel comfortable enough and supported enough to work on it. Not going to name names, but you can blame the people who added to my struggle for the indefinite wait, and those of you who contributed to my struggle, you know who you are. And yes, this IS your fault. I've tried. I've tried my damndest. But when I needed support and kindness, you all decided to do the opposite. Sorry this wasn't a terribly positive post, but I've been meaning to get this out. I hope those of you who wish me well, are doing okay. I'm sorry this has been such a long time coming, and that it may be a longer time still. ~Andy
'Been meaning to try this for a bit, and I don't claim to be an expert of any kind. Here's my mini review on Batman: The Killing Joke (Film). (SPOILER-Y. ISH. ETC.)
I'll be going over things such as Actors/Actresses, Characters, Art Style, and Events, not necessarily in order, but eventually things will cross similar lines of thought, peppering in my own thoughts and feels as I go. I writes as I writes.
Let's get started? Let's get started. Allons-y~!
Art style, felt like a simplified version of what I remember of the comicbook that I've seen. (no I haven't read it fully.) Still a far step up from what you typically see nowadays. But I'll always love the DC Animated Universe style of Batman the Animated Series to Justice League Unlimited the most.
To the events of the movie itself, I've heard many complaining about the first half hour or so. Could've been done a bit better. It wasn't movie-ruining for me like it was for some. There were plenty of moments of suspense and anticipation, my only critique, is unlike another Batman movie like Mask of the Phantasm which keeps you glued, The Killing Joke didn't really give off that sort of vibe. I know they have it in 'em. Better luck next time.
I also felt, for it being a Batman movie, we don't spend alot of time with ol' Batsy.
We spent of course, the first 30 minutes or so with Barbara/Batgirl and her struggles with how she and Bruce feel about each other. Coulda' been done better, but from experience, it could have been done far worse. All in all wasn't a big fan of Barb's internal struggles with the whole thing. Probably could have been removed entirely and the movie would have been fine without it. But I do see why they did it to try to get you feeling for Barb. Eeeh. I'm a little mixed on it.
I feel as if we spent the most time with the Joker in the flashbacks leading up to how he became The Joker. So damn sad...
I speak from multiple experiences, we've all been there at some point in our lives where with just one bad day that could make or break us.
You've gotta feel something for the guy. And in the end Joker just seems to stop, and even reverts to a small bit of his old self for a short while, he breaks his Joker persona for an 'out-of-character' moment from the absurdity of it all. Not for one of his usual jokes, but a joke I feel would have been told by his 'original' self. Despite all his talk of not liking to deal with memories, seems he still remembers who he used to be.
...Of course, it could all be a lie. Like Joker says in the movie: 'If I have to have a past, I prefer for it to be multiple choice'. So it could all be a figment of his own twisted mind.
Or not.
And what does Batman do when Joker delivers the punchline of said joke? He laughs. And you know, after all these years, hearing Kevin Conroy's Batman laugh is still unnerving in a good way. Especially with how the movie withdraws. We don't see Batman or Joker anymore, but Joker stops laughing after a short bit. And Batman keeps laughing.
Kevin Conroy will ALWAYS be the Platinum Standard of Batman Voice Actors, and my NUMBER ONE favorite Batman actor of all time. Not much else to say about that, Kevin Conroy delivered. He always does. You can't help but feel the darkness and intimidation of that voice we so long ago heard cry: 'I am Vengeance. I am the Night. I am BATMAN!!'.
Mark Hamill's still got it with the Joker, never lost it. His Joker is not as wacky as some of his appearances, of course he's dark because the material is very much so.
It's fascinating Mark Hamill plays two opposite ends of the spectrum with the Joker as Chaotic Evil, and Luke Skywalker as Lawful Good. Not sure if those are 100% correct, but that's how I see it. And to me it makes Mark Hamill one of the best actors I've ever seen.
Tara Strong's Batgirl is of course the Batgirl I always remember the most of any who've played Barbara Gordon. Her delivery was excellent as always. It always gives me this vibe of semi-sultry and incredibly intelligent. Love it.
Always good to hear Kevin Conroy, Mark Hamill, and Tara Strong. For me at least they can do no wrong.
I blame writers for dialogue. I didn't really see a problem with it here. Tiny bit dry, but the voice actors more than make up for it with delivery.
...Also. The VA playing Alfred, Brian George. Only a line or two, but he sounded very similar to Efrem Zimbalist, Jr. and I liked that.
There were a few references no doubt that not just myself but long time Batman and Batman the Animated Series fans or fans of the aforementioned Batman veteran VA's noticed. Here's a few of mine.
+ A more up-to-date modern take on BTAS' Batmobile. (FAVE)
+ A cardboard cutout of Batman resmbling his BTAS appearance.
+ Anytime we get a shot of the giant penny and the T-Rex in the Batcave (low-hanging fruit I know, but I like what I like.)
That's about it I think.
Now...Since this is my first review, most tend to have a rating system. Me and my buddy @DiggityDave1988 usually do a number out of five after we've seen a movie.
If it ain't broken, don't fix it. Might change my mind, but eh. For now...
So, I give Batman: The Killing Joke . . .
A 3.5 out of 5.
And I majorly look foreward to Batman and Harley Quinn in August, I'll definitely do a review for that.
I may get into doing this more often. With movies I'm seeing and have seen for the fun of it. Thinking of doing a 'Line~of~Thought' review for the upcoming Spider-Man: Homecoming, possibly go back and do one for Guardians of the Galaxy Volume 2, Wonder Woman, Pirates 5. We'll see.
Hope you all enjoyed. Lemme know what you thought of Batman: The Killing Joke if you've seen it, and if you'd like to see more of this sort of thing for me. It'd give me a nice health dose of motivation, which I despirately need.
Just keep to a nice pleasant civil tone. --Gotta say it just in case, you understand.
Thanks for reading, Later~!
☆ ~Axdyn/Andy
Questions + Earth .5 stuff~
A/ Have the Avengers publicly reveal that Spider-Woman was formerly Spider-Man in an effort to stay truthful to the public?
B/ Have the Avengers introduce Spider-Woman as another character and let the public continue thinking Spider-Man is dead?
I wanted to know from those who read my stuff. I personally think A would be best, as keeping secrets from the public generally hurts the Avengers' image in the comicbooks.
And something else. Those involved with characters within Earth .5, I suggest updating your characters a bit. --Come to think of it I'll just bring it right to your attention personally, there aren't alot of people with characters in Earth .5's continuity. But still.
Also, sorry for the long wait on more of my Impossible Series, health issues, yadda yadda yadda. Regardless of said health issues, I've been working on character designs and building them up.
Second Question. I need a powerhouse character for the Earth .5 Avengers. I'm not going for Hulk or Thor just yet. Should it be:
A/ She Hulk
B/ Hercules
C/ Suggestion (Please write out a suggestion.
Aaand that's about it. I'll be around. Have a good one, people.
Meet TheKeikoIsALie~.
She does awesome art for decent prices, so show her some love. X3
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Give her gallery a browse, you won't be disappointed. ^_^